Like I’ll do my Anki, read, watch YouTube, Netflix, read more, listen to podcasts, etc. and it still feels like I’ve done nothing even though it has been hours.
How long have been at it? You need to remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
I do 2 hours/day and I feel that’s not much
people who do a lot are like, basically taking it like it is a full-time job. 8 hours a day.
From my point of view, there is no “enough”. The more time you invest, the faster you improve. That’s why I set long-term goals, calculate how much time it would take to achieve them, take into account the amount of free time and energy I have and, based on that, determine how much time to spend on studying.
For this exact reason, I’ve been consistently learning 30 new words a day for the past 1.5 years. 20 and especially 10 is way too slow, and 40 or more is beyond what I personally can do. Sometimes I temporary reduce or increase the number of words depending on what I have in my backlog (e.g. if the words are even worth learning), but overall it stays around 30 – that’s how much time and energy I’m willing to dedicate.
Do you already know Chinese?
I find that this factor is probably the biggest factor in determining your progress in learning Japanese.
Its gonna take time, your brain is getting overloded with new information and it takes time to process and to let it sink in. I am now in my 3rd year of studying and also feel like that sometimes. You need some kind of progress measuring stick and its not universal (thats why people use jlpts as one measure).
Vocab and sounds being heard take time to process in my head. But particles are finally clicking subconsciously.
that’s because you are not doing the most basic thing in a language study: use your voice to practice with someone
I’ve been at it for 10 years now and I can tell you it’ll never feel like it’s enough. I’ve been living in Japan this whole time, passed the JLPT N2 like 8 years ago, work full time in a Japanese company, communicate 100% in Japanese with my wife who is a native, and despite all of the progress, it still feels like it’s not enough even though by all measures it should be. It’s just a mental hurdle you’ll have to live with.
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How long have been at it? You need to remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint.
I do 2 hours/day and I feel that’s not much
people who do a lot are like, basically taking it like it is a full-time job. 8 hours a day.
From my point of view, there is no “enough”. The more time you invest, the faster you improve. That’s why I set long-term goals, calculate how much time it would take to achieve them, take into account the amount of free time and energy I have and, based on that, determine how much time to spend on studying.
For this exact reason, I’ve been consistently learning 30 new words a day for the past 1.5 years. 20 and especially 10 is way too slow, and 40 or more is beyond what I personally can do. Sometimes I temporary reduce or increase the number of words depending on what I have in my backlog (e.g. if the words are even worth learning), but overall it stays around 30 – that’s how much time and energy I’m willing to dedicate.
Do you already know Chinese?
I find that this factor is probably the biggest factor in determining your progress in learning Japanese.
Its gonna take time, your brain is getting overloded with new information and it takes time to process and to let it sink in. I am now in my 3rd year of studying and also feel like that sometimes. You need some kind of progress measuring stick and its not universal (thats why people use jlpts as one measure).
Vocab and sounds being heard take time to process in my head. But particles are finally clicking subconsciously.
that’s because you are not doing the most basic thing in a language study: use your voice to practice with someone
I’ve been at it for 10 years now and I can tell you it’ll never feel like it’s enough. I’ve been living in Japan this whole time, passed the JLPT N2 like 8 years ago, work full time in a Japanese company, communicate 100% in Japanese with my wife who is a native, and despite all of the progress, it still feels like it’s not enough even though by all measures it should be. It’s just a mental hurdle you’ll have to live with.